25 Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity (2026)

Nowadays, with the hectic and rapid digitalized workplace, it is typical to have dozens of tabs, an unending stream of emails, or various projects to juggle all at the same time, and not an exception. The Chrome extensions have become an inseparable part of your browser and have made it a great work station. 

Being a remote worker, an entrepreneur, a student, or a creative professional, the appropriate productivity extensions for Chrome can radically simplify your task, reduce the number of distractions, and make you achieve more in your work significantly within a shorter period. Here, you will find the most useful and the Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity in 2025, helping you create a customized digital workflow that optimizes your efficiency and reduces burnout.

Productivity Challenges in the Digital Age

• Information Overload: Unceasing notifications, emails and updates discontinue the concentration and make the profound activities harder.
• Tab Chaos: Opening many dozens of tabs at the same time can cause slowdowns in the browser, as well as mental confusion.
• Time Blindness: Hours are lost to social media and non-work necessities with no tracker systems.
• Overwhelm of Communication: Use of different messaging platforms and email communication causes work communications to be tiring and also slow to reply.
• Context Switching: When one switches between applications and tools, focus goes away, and total productivity goes down by as much as 40 percent.
• Password Fatigue: The management of hundreds of login credentials spent on platforms is a waste of time and leads to security vulnerabilities.

Why Productivity Extensions Matter

• Easy Extension: Productivity extensions for Chrome can be seen as integral extensions to your browser, thus there is no need to use different applications.
• Automated Workflows: Smarter extensions are automated to perform repetitive duties by releasing the mind to creative work.
• Real-Time Insights: Monitor your activities on the Internet and recognize the time-consuming activities during the early stages before making them habits.
• Personalized Workflow: Create your own custom browser, specifically depending on your workflow and industry demands.
• Inexpensive Backups: There are numerous potent productivity extensions in Chrome, which have strong free versions and professional tools are now available to all.
• Aggregate Complete Accessibility: Cloud-based extensions are synchronized on devices so that your productivity extensions go everywhere with you.

How to Choose the Right Extensions

• Name Your Top Three: Productivity challenges Do you have your top three productivity issues listed before going through the Chrome Web Store?
• Check Recent Updates: First of all, make sure you have extensions, which were last updated to 2024-2025 and are compatible with the latest versions of Chrome.
• Check Reviews of Withers: Find 4+ star ratings and reviews by people who work in your domain.
• Assess Privacy Policies: Examine the information of data extensions and their treatment of sensitive data.
• Minimal start: The first extensions to install are 5-7 extensions, not dozens of additional tools crammed in your browser.
• Free versions: Go through the ins and outs of free levels before subscribing to premium versions.
• Keep an eye on Browser Performance: Keep an eye on the Task Manager of Chrome to detect extensions that require a high amount of resources.
• Make Active Development a Priority: Select extensions that have responsive customer service and frequent updates.

Comparison Table: Best Productivity Extensions for Chrome

Name	Category	Main Use	Free Version	Rating
Todoist	Task Management	Daily task organization	Yes	4.6/5
Trello	Project Management	Visual project boards	Yes	4.5/5
Asana	Project Management	Team collaboration	Yes	4.4/5
ClickUp	All-in-One Workspace	Comprehensive project management	Yes	4.6/5
Google Keep	Note-Taking	Quick note capture	Yes	4.5/5
Clockify	Time Tracking	Time management	Yes	4.7/5
RescueTime	Focus Management	Activity tracking	Yes	4.3/5
StayFocusd	Website Blocking	Distraction elimination	Yes	4.5/5
Momentum	Dashboard	Motivational homepage	Yes	4.6/5
Pomodoro Timer	Focus Sessions	Timed work intervals	Yes	4.4/5
Notion Web Clipper	Content Saving	Knowledge management	Yes	4.5/5
Evernote Web Clipper	Note-Taking	Web content capture	Yes	4.4/5
Save to Pocket	Reading List	Article bookmarking	Yes	4.5/5
Raindrop.io	Bookmark Manager	Visual bookmark organization	Yes	4.6/5
Grammarly	Writing Assistant	Grammar and style checking	Yes	4.6/5
Loom	Video Messaging	Screen recording	Yes	4.7/5
Email Tracker for Gmail	Email Management	Read receipt tracking	Yes	4.3/5
Magical	Text Expansion	Message templates	Yes	4.5/5
Zapier	Automation	Workflow automation	Yes	4.4/5
Nimbus Screenshot	Screen Capture	Screenshots and recordings	Yes	4.5/5
Bitwarden	Password Manager	Secure credential storage	Yes	4.7/5
Checker Plus for Gmail	Email Notifications	Gmail alerts	Yes	4.5/5
OneTab	Tab Management	Memory optimization	Yes	4.6/5
Dark Reader	Visual Comfort	Dark mode for websites	Yes	4.8/5
uBlock Origin	Ad Blocking	Ad and tracker blocking	Yes	4.8/5

25 Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity (2026)

A. Task & Project Management Tools

1. Todoist

Todoist will continue to lead the personal task management market in 2025 as the most user-friendly program, with natural language construction that turns the statement “Meeting with Sarah next Tuesday 3pm” into tasks that are now perfectly scheduled.

It has a smart priority system, which applies AI to propose the best completion timetable in accordance with your completion practices, and complete connectivity with Gmail, Slack, and calendar software will combine all your daily tasks into one command center. For digital marketers using Chrome Extensions for Off-Page SEO, Todoist also helps in scheduling outreach tasks, backlink tracking reminders, and collaboration workflows effectively.

Key Features:

• Natural language task entry
• Priority level diagram.
• Trend analytics of product productivity.
• Cross-platform synchronization

Pricing: Free version available; Premium starts at $4/month; Business at $6/month per user

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/todoist 

2. Trello

The visual boards of the Kanban style in Trello help the project management feel no effort as the complicated workflows are turned into simple drag-and-drop movements. The 2025 version will also have AI-driven card recommendations, which will automatically sort your tasks and forecast timetables on when they might be completed depending on the overall performance of your team.

For users who rely on digital tools and the Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity, Trello integrates seamlessly with browser-based workflows to enhance task management and efficiency. Any approach to managing personal objectives or projecting enterprise projects, Trello will be flexible enough to support any approach, from Agile to Getting Things Done.

Key Features:

• Drag-and-drop card management.
• Board templates which can be customized.
• Power-Up integrations
• Team collaboration tools

Pricing: Free version available; Standard at $5/month; Premium at $10/month; Enterprise at $17.50/month per user

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/trello 

3. Asana

Asana takes up the team productivity segment by offering advanced visualization features of projects such as the timeline, calendar, board, and list views that support different working styles. Its 2025 AI-supported assistant will automatically recognize the bottlenecks of the project and propose reallocating the resources, and the custom automation of workflows will avoid the necessity to make redundant status changes.

Integrated with AI Forecasting Tools, Asana also helps teams predict project timelines and performance outcomes more accurately. The productivity extensions for Chrome allow one to create instant tasks on any webpage, and emails and documents will become actionable.

Key Features:

• Various project view choices.
• Automated workflow rules
• High-tech reporting dashboards.
• Goal tracking integration

Pricing: Free for individuals and small teams; Premium at $10.99/month; Business at $24.99/month per user

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/asana 

4. ClickUp

ClickUp is an app that claims to be one that replaces them all, and in 2025 it will all be in a sense of customization that no other app can push its limits. Starting with basic to-do lists and moving down the hierarchy of a project with dependencies and time estimates, ClickUp can be shaped to fit your project to the minute requirements.

The universal search feature of the extension — one of the Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity — will locate any task, document, or conversation in your whole workspace within milliseconds, and individual retrieval of information is instant.

Key Features:

• Group hierarchy can be customized.
• Built-in time tracking
• Collaboration space of documents.
• Goal progress tracking

Pricing: Free version available; Unlimited at $7/month; Business at $12/month; Enterprise pricing available

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/clickup 

5. Google Keep

The false simplicity of Google Keep conceals a strong organizational potential which is ideal in capturing thoughts in a hurry and quick reference lists. The change in 2025 is adding better OCR technology, which can identify the text within an image with unbelievable precision, and location-based reminders so they do not forget about something when one reaches a particular destination. Keep is a good alternative to more complex note-taking systems due to its ability to use color-coding, labels, and collaborative sharing.

Key Features:

• Voice-to-text transcription
• Image text extraction
• Location-based reminders
• Shared note collaboration

Pricing: Completely free with Google account

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-keep 

B. Time Tracking & Focus Management

6. Clockify

Clockify is a game-changer in time management as the service offers professional time management but is offered as an entirely free and unlimited user-model, meaning that anyone can use it. As one of the Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity, its time tracker works automatically with more than 80 web applications and, detecting when you are using Trello, Asana, or GitHub, it records time wisely on one-click. The specific reports on the hours disappearance allow you to understand where they are lost, and the team dashboards enable the managers to see the project performance in real-time, without the need to micromanage.

Key Features:

• Unlimited time tracking
• Automatic project identification.
• Billable hours calculation
• Team capacity planning

Pricing: Free forever; Plus at $3.99/month; Premium at $5.99/month; Enterprise at $7.99/month per user

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/clockify 

7. RescueTime

RescueTime silently works in the background, producing intricate portraits of your particular patterns of digital behaviors, even without any manual entries. The 2025 release has a machine learning feature to auto-categorize new websites and apps in order to distinguish productive tasks and time wastage tasks with a very high level of accuracy. Email reports are truthful and give you a weekly update on the productivity trend, and FocusTime mode blocks distracting websites in cases when you have to be the most focused.

Key Features:

• Granting of automatic activity classification.
• The calculation of productivity score.
• Distraction blocking mode
• Goal setting framework

Pricing: Free version available; Premium at $12/month with advanced features

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/rescuetime 

8. StayFocusd

StayFocusd has mercilessly implemented an idea of what time control on a problem site is and then rigidly applied that time control. After you finish your 20-minute limit of social media, StayFocused will disallow you to access social media the rest of the day in favor of inspirational messages that will take the place of addictive feeds. The Nuclear Option blocks non-essential sites up to eight hours, which results in disruption-free zones of deep work.

Key Features:

• Elaborate website blocking.
• Daily time allowances
• Nuclear Option mode
• Challenge mode activation

Pricing: Completely free with no premium tier

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocusd 

9. Momentum

Momentum makes your new tab page a relaxing productivity dashboard with stunning photography, inspirational quotes, and whatever is on your to-do list with the most important task in your day. Among the Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity, the 2025 edition combines weather forecasts, time zones, and bookmark customization ability, along with optional focus music to establish an immediate productivity type of mindset upon opening Chrome. Positive reinforcement is realized due to personal greetings that recognize achievements during your workday.

Key Features:

• Fabulous graphics in the background.
• Daily focus task
• Integrated to-do lists
• The rotation of inspirational quotes.

Pricing: Free version available; Plus at $3.33/month; Pro at $5/month

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/momentum 

10. Pomodoro Timer

This extension relies on the well-known time management strategy by Francesco Cirillo, which is dividing the work process into 25 minutes of focused activities with short breaks in between, which are found to be the optimal way to keep the brain Vitarka and avoid burnout.

The flexibility of customizing the session length will suit various attention spans and automatic break notifications will address the common lack of knowledge of taking breaks. The courtings of visual and auditory alerts will indicate the change between work and rest, and will keep you in the rhythm of sustainable productivity during the day.

Key Features:

• Adjustable time intervals.
• Notices about breaks.
• Session history tracking
• Minimal interface design

Pricing: Free with optional donations

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pomodoro-timer 

C. Note-Taking & Knowledge Capture

11. Notion Web Clipper

Notion Web Clipper is an natively integrated web content capture tool that can save web resources in your Notion workspaces retaining page formatting, images, and links with auto-generated metadata such as date and source URL. The productivity extensions for Chrome are also smart enough to propose pertinent databases and properties depending on content type, be it research articles, recipes, or product inspiration, which you save. Tags, comments, and live editing facility make the content captured actionable knowledge instead of electronic garbage.

Key Features:

• Page wise preservation of the contents.
• Database property mapping
• Instant content editing
• Automatic metadata tagging

Pricing: Free with Notion account; Plus at $10/month; Business at $15/month; Enterprise pricing available

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/notion-web-clipper 

12. Evernote Web Clipper

Evernote Web Clipper is more than the alternative programs that provide limited capabilities with only a few capture options such as full page, simplified, bookmark, and screenshot, which means that you will never have the opportunity to save more than you need. The smart filing automatically proposes notebooks and tags due to analysis of content and your past organization styles, and the effective search features help to find the information in thousands of notes in real time. The 2025 release brings better annotation of PDF on a clipped content.

Key Features:

• Multiple capture modes
• Suggestive intelligent tags.
• Cross-device synchronization
• PDF annotation tools

Pricing: Free version available; Personal at $10.83/month; Professional at $14.17/month

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/evernote-web-clipper 

13. Save to Pocket

Pocket builds a focus-free reading queue which is synced between all devices and lets you save the articles when you come across them and read when you are not busy. The extension removes advertisements and messy displays, which results in clean text and pictures that are easier to read. An offline experience is the assurance that your reading list is available whenever you are commuting or flying, and with audio narration, your articles can be converted to podcasts so that one can multitask.

Key Features:

• Clean reading interface
• Offline article access
• Text-to-speech narration
• Cross-device synchronization

Pricing: Free version available; Premium at $4.99/month with full-text search and permanent library

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/save-to-pocket 

14. Raindrop.io

Raindrop.io takes bookmark management to a whole new level of beautiful visual previews, nested collections, and extensive tagging controls that ensure that finding something saved is absolutely easy. Working groups can share resources and books, and permanent copies help to guarantee that found pages can be accessed even when original websites go offline. Break even search, duplication and broken links keep libraries quality in the long run.

Key Features:

• Visual bookmark previews
• Organizing collections within collections.
• Full-text search capability

Pricing: Free version available; Pro at $3/month with unlimited collections and permanent copies

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/raindropio 

D. Communication & Writing Productivity

15. Grammarly

Grammarly has now grown much more than a mere spell-checking system to a multi-faceted AI-based writing assistant, with awareness of context, tone, and audience. Real-time suggestions enhance precision, activity and accuracy in emails, files as well as posts in social media whereas overcoming writer monotony in 2025 generative AI suggestions include contextual completeness and a phasing alternative. It is such an invaluable tool in academic and professional writing because it can find plagiarism and recommend citations.

Key Features:

• Gramma Kaki Wiki text grammar correction.
• Suggestions of tone and clarity.
• Plagiarism detection tool
• Writing aids Generative writing.

Pricing: Free version available; Premium at $12/month; Business at $15/month per user

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/grammarly 

16. Loom

Loom is a new workaround that transforms the existing way of asynchronous communication through the HD immediacy of being able to record the screens and the camera to displace the lengthy email messages and the needless meetings. Your screen and voice are captured, and you have the option of your webcam (Picture in Picture mode) to be recorded, the extension begins in seconds.

Automatic transcription enables searches for videos that improve feedback without scheduled calls using emoji reactions and timestamped comments. Video analytics can display the viewers of messages and important messages to the target audience.

Key Features:

• Instant screen recording
• Automatic generation of transcription.
• Viewer analytics tracking
• Navigation through comment times.

Pricing: Free for creators; Business at $12.50/month; Enterprise pricing available

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/loom 

17. Email Tracker for Gmail

Email Tracker provides light to a dark side of the Gmail communication which lets you know the second a recipient opens your email so that you do not have to be left guessing whether your recipient has got that important mail. The desktop notifications and extensive read receipts that disclose when and how many times a message has been read will help you time follow-ups on pitch.

Tracking links will indicate what attachments or resources were the most interesting to recipients, which can be used in future communication success. In addition, integrating AI Email Assistants can further automate responses, analyze engagement patterns, and enhance overall email productivity.

Key Features:

• On the fly open messages.
• Multiple read tracking
• Link click analytics
• The ability to schedule the sending.

Pricing: Free for limited tracking; Unlimited at $4.99/month

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/email-tracker-for-gmail 

18. Magical

Magical does not require integration setting or API connection thanks to they can expand the text in the instant regardless of the site one is working with. Set any word writing to be shortlisted and grow into a full email template, customer support response, or commonly used words with the utmost consistency.

The 2025 edition presents variables of personalization with AI that will automatically add the names of recipients, dates, and other contextual content to the text, making templated messages sound truly personal and relevant.

Key Features:

• Universal text expansion
• The variable of insertion of personalization.
• No integration required
• Team template sharing

Pricing: Free for individuals; Team at $15/month per user with advanced features

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/magical 

E. Automation & Workflow Optimization

19. Zapier Chrome Extension

With Zapier, you can make great automation decisions using an easy-to-use web interface, which allows effortless integration between thousands of applications without requiring knowledge of code. The productivity extensions for Chrome allows one to create fast Zaps with any webpage, which will simplify the automatization of routine operations, such as storing email attachments to a cloud provider or inserting content in a form into spreadsheets. Ready-to-use templates reduce the time of installation, whereas multi-step workflow is custom and can deal with any business processes that used to demand human intervention.

Key Features:

• 5,000+ app integrations
• Workflow Multi-step workflow creation.
• Ready-configured automation templates.
• Conditional logic branching.

Pricing: Free for 100 tasks/month; Starter at $19.99/month; Professional at $49/month; Team and Company plans available

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zapier 

20. Nimbus Screenshot & Screen Video Recorder

Nimbus is a full screen capture program with features of full-page shots and selected area captures, as well as recording screen shots with webcam clips. Annotation tools allow markups such as arrows, text, shapes and blurs to be marked immediately and shared without having to edit them out in a single application. The 2025 adds automatic scrolling capture of long web pages and GIF images out of video records, ideal in making a tutorial or bug report.

Key Features:

• Full-page scrolling capture
• Video recording capability
• Built-in annotation tools
• Cloud storage integration

Pricing: Free with watermark; Pro at $5/month removes watermarks and adds premium features

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/nimbus-screenshot 

21. Bitwarden

Bitwarden is an open-source password protection that promises enterprise password protection and encourages transparency and community auditing. Auto-fill technology logically automatically fills in sites and apps with passwords and creates cryptographically secure passwords when creating new accounts. Cloud storage with encrypted data provides a cross-device synchronization system, keeps passwords everywhere and allows teams to share accounts in locations without disclosing passwords.

Key Features:

• Unlimited password storage
• Secure password generator
• Cross-platform synchronization
• Encrypted password sharing

Pricing: Free for personal use; Premium at $10/year; Families at $40/year; Business at $3/month per user

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bitwarden 

22. Checker Plus for Gmail

Checker Plus is the Gmail Manager that makes Gmail management feel more like a desktop one with notifications, Gmail quick action, and in-box previews. In the notification windows, it is possible to read, archive, mark as spam, or delete the emails without moving out of the workflow, and in the process being attentive to the essential messages.

Several account support advocates deal with personal and professional inboxes at the same time, whereas voice notifications will actually call your attention to priority emails by a particular contact. Tools like Checker Plus can also be integrated with Email Marketing Platforms for Nonprofits, helping organizations streamline communication, manage donor interactions, and enhance outreach efficiency.

Key Features:

• Popups of desktop notification.
• Quick email actions
• Multiple account management
• Customizable alert sounds

Pricing: Free with full features; donations appreciated

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/checker-plus-for-gmail 

F. Quality of Life & Browser Efficiency

23. OneTab

OneTab is a universal solution to tabs overload, a problem, but it saves up to 95 percent of browser memory in an instant because all the backing open tabs are removed and put into one cataloged list. A single click will save dozens of tabs in the form of clickable links that could be restored one by one or in a single group when necessary. The extension will generate date or topic tab groups automatically and can be used as an intelligent browsing history to show the patterns in your research and work habits.

Key Features:

• Instant tab consolidation
• 95% memory reduction
• Shareable tab groups
• Flexibility in tab restorations.

Pricing: Completely free and open-source

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/onetab 

24. Dark Reader

Dark Reader scans web color and smartly reverses them to user-friendly dark colors causing less eye damage when spending a long period at the screen. The customization feature is used to customize brightness, contrast, sepia filter, and font rendering to user preferences, whereas site-specific settings deal with websites known to be problematic to convert. In the 2025 version, laptops have automatic activation depending on the sensor of time of the day and the integration of ambient light.

Key Features:

• Universal dark mode
• Customizable color filters
• Site-specific exceptions
• Timebased activation in automation.

Pricing: Free and open-source

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dark-reader 

25. uBlock Origin

uBlock Origin is the standard of the art of ad blocking which is both unforgivingly efficient and light on resources and which in fact shortens the time to browse. It gets rid of tracking scripts and malware sites as well as annoyance features such as cookie warnings and newsletter popup advertising beyond blocking advertisements. On the one hand, advanced users like finer control over filtering rules, whereas on the other hand, novices have great defaults that can accomplish their task right after being installed.

Key Features:

• Comprehensive ad blocking
• Malware protection
• Minimal CPU usage
• Customizable filter lists

Pricing: Completely free and open-source

Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin 

Tips for Using Chrome Extensions Safely

• Check Permissions Carefully: Check what data extensions claim to have access to, before they are installed; the valid productivity extensions that Chrome used should only ask to see data that it preclaims its desired action can.
• Security Audits: Have regular Security Audits conducted quarterly: Go through installed extensions and get rid of any that do not require it and which keep on accessing your browsing information without justifiable reasons.
• Install Only with Authorization: It is also mandatory to install extensions only through the Chrome Web Store that offers limited protection in the form of a basic security check and user reviews.
• Last Check Update: Extension is considered to be active and managed by security patches in the last 3-6 months.
• Check Browser Performance: Chrome has an in-built task manager (Shift+Esc) that can be used to see which productivity extensions for Chrome are using too much memory/CPU resources.
• Limit Extension Quantity: Add extension up to 10-15 extensions as many as possible to keep your browser fast and minimize the security threats.
• Reputation of Research Developers: before these extension developers are trusted with sensitive information, they have to research their other products and online presence.
• Extensive Extension Sync Selections: Only allow one to choose items to sync between the devices that one does not wish to see on their personal computers.
• Use Incognito Mode Settings: Set incognito mode on extensions on demand or not based on whether they are required as part of a private browsing process.

Conclusion

The Best Chrome Extensions for Productivity mentioned in this guide are the future of browser-based efficiency products in 2025, as the extensions will provide a solution to any potentially imaginable workflow issue. Intelligent task management and accurate time tracking can be used, smooth communication and automated procedures, these extensions can make Chrome a multifunctional operating system, not a basic web browser. 

To be successful, one should not install every tool but rather choose carefully the ones related to your certain pain areas, try out the corresponding productivity extensions in Chrome, and create your own set of tools according to what will indeed result in significant improvements to your daily routine.

It is important to keep in mind that no true power substitute of such basic habits as prioritization, deep work sessions, and a regular break can be performed by even the strongest productivity extensions to use in Chrome. Begin with 5-7 well selected extensions covering your most difficult problems, go extremely masterful on them, and add more tools gradually as you need them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many productivity extensions for Chrome should I install? 

Begin by choosing 5-7 key extensions to your greatest problems. Certain extensions are too many and slow down the performance of a browser and bring complexity. Introducing new tools to the work process should be done when you have already perfected the tools and when certain gaps in your workflow are detected.

Do Chrome extensions work on mobile devices? 

The majority of the extensions within Chrome work successfully on desktop browsers. Nevertheless, a lot of widely used productivity extensions on Chrome include mobile apps that are synchronized with desktop ones such as Todoist, Trello, Notion, and Evernote.

Can productivity extensions compromise my privacy or security? 

The extensions are used with certain permissions and these permissions may be a threat to the security of the system in the hands of malicious developers. 

Will too many extensions slow down my browser? 

Yes, every extension takes up the system resources. Track the performance by Chrome Task Manager (Shift+Esc) and eliminate extensions that consume too much memory. The quality rather than quantity guarantees maximum browsing speed and at the same time productivity is not affected.

Are free versions of productivity extensions sufficient?

The majority of productivity extensions in Chrome are powerful in their free mode offering enough features that can be used by one person and a small team. Many of these have free options which can be tested comprehensively before turning into paid plans.